


The Labyrinth of London: I Have Brought You a Gift

by FarGreenCountrySwiftSunrise



Series: The Labyrinth of London [24]
Category: Labyrinth (1986), Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms, Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
Genre: Advice, F/M, Gen, Gift Fic, Gift Giving, Relationship Advice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-04
Updated: 2014-04-04
Packaged: 2018-01-18 04:08:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1414513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FarGreenCountrySwiftSunrise/pseuds/FarGreenCountrySwiftSunrise
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Sarah becomes his flatmate, Jareth consistently fails in giving Sarah gifts so he calls a friend for advice. One shot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Labyrinth of London: I Have Brought You a Gift

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Thin White Sleuth](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/43429) by Pika-la-Cynique. 



> A/N: This story was inspired by "The Thin White Sleuth..." by Pika-la-Cynique (http://pika-la-cynique.deviantart.com/art/The-Thin-White-Sleuth-277488920) of Girls Next Door fame.

“Would you like a peach, Sarah?” Jareth said the morning after she had moved into 221B. He tossed the fruit to her.

“Only if you will eat the pit,” Sarah said. She gave a sweet, demeaning smile to Jareth as she tossed it at his head.

&%&%&%

Upon further reflection, Jareth found that a peach was not the wisest of choices for his first gift to her in their tentative alliance. He found soft leather gloves that would fit Sarah perfectly. While she was reading one night, he said, “I found these gloves and…”

“No.”

&%&%&%

“Sarah, would you like these earrings? I thought they…”

“No.”

&%&%&%

Jareth made a call while Sarah was out one afternoon. “Sophia Midnight speaking,” the teenager answered.

“Sophia, it’s Jareth.”

“What an unusual surprise, Jareth,” Sophia said, “How’s the new flatmate?”

“She is wonderful, but a bit odd.”

“She’s agreed to live with you. Of course she’s odd.”

“True, but she seems quite averse to gifts of any kind given from me. She accepted goblin boots from my kinsman with no hesitation, but even the smallest of gifts from me is quickly rejected.”

“Well, genius, the last time you offered her a gift, it was to make her give up her brother. Did you ever think of that?”

Jareth was silent.

“That’s what I thought. Listen; knowing you, you probably bought her diamond earrings or something.”

“They were emeralds. Do not exaggerate.”

“Anyway,” Sophia said in obvious exasperation, “Go for something small. Something spur of the moment that made you think of her. Make it clear that it is not with any strings attached. You just thought it would suit her.”

“I do not want her to think that I do not value her.”

“Here’s the thing, Jareth; not everyone views gifts as a sign of love like you do. Well, a sign of love when you aren’t dealing with a wished away. Thanks for the glass slides.”

“You’re welcome, but you are off topic.”

“Sometimes people view gifts as a favor that has to be paid back. These big things would make Sarah feel like she has to pay you back just as much. Something small is what she is comfortable with.”

“Your reasoning is sound.”

“It generally is.”

&%&%&%

They were on a case the next time Jareth tried to give Sarah a gift. A dead banker and a dead journalist. Strange cyphers. Possible smugglers. Sarah was thinking of calling the case “The Blind Banker”. They were investigating a shop called the Lucky Cat Emporium.

“You want Lucky cat?” the shopkeeper asked Jareth.

“No, thank you,” Jareth said.

“Ten pound. Ten pound. I think your wife she will like,” the shopkeeper said, nodding to Sarah.

“Did you hear that precious?” Jareth said, grinning, “She says you would like to own a lucky cat.”

Sarah rolled her eyes and noticed a fake jade necklace with gold lettering on it that dangled off a long string. “Isn’t this pretty?” Sarah said mostly to herself.

“It says ‘dream’ in Chinese,” Jareth said over her shoulder.

“You read Chinese?” Sarah asked.

“I can read and speak in just about any language ‘dream’, ‘goblin’, ‘child’, ‘children’, ‘wish’, and ‘where is the loo?’,” Jareth said, smirking at the last one.

Sarah smiled as well. Jareth took the necklace and examined it. “Look at the sticker,” Jareth said.

“The symbol is exactly the same as the cypher,” Sarah said.

Jareth went up to the store keeper and bought the necklace. The detective and his partner quickly figured out the symbols and sat down for Sarah’s lunch at a nearby cafe.

“I am so hungry,” Sarah said as she waited impatiently for her food to arrive.

“Focus on the case, not your stomach,” Jareth said. He was holding the cheap necklace in his hand, switching his attention between it and the street.

Sarah rolled her eyes. “Two men travel back from China. They both come straight to the Lucky Cat Emporium. What did they see?”

“It’s not what they saw. It’s what they brought with them in those suitcases,” Jareth said.

“They were smugglers?” Sarah asked. Her bowl of noodles was placed before her and she ate eagerly.

Jareth held up the pendant next to Sarah’s face. “It matches your eyes,” he said. He had bought the necklace on impulse so he could match the sticker with other signs. Seeing it now with Sarah, he was pleased. “Do you want it?”

Sarah raised an eyebrow. “Are you serious?”

“Of course I am. Just a little trinket,” Jareth said.

“It’s not a Fae favor or something, is it?” Sarah asked.

Jareth shook his head. “No. That is when you give something that is dear to you to someone else. This is just something I saw a few minutes ago and thought you liked. There is no ulterior motive, Sarah.”

Sarah took the necklace and slipped it over her head. “Thank you, Jareth.”

Jareth blinked a few times before looking back to the street. _SHE LIKED IT! SHE LIKED IT! SHE LIKED IT!_

Little did Jareth know that a little over a year later, Sarah would give the gift back to him as her Fae Favor: the thing she valued most to give to the one she loved most.

&%&%&%

On her next birthday, Sophia Midnight received a brand new microscope with a note that read, “You are a genius.”

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Happy Birthday, SarianaJ on D.A. (http://sarianaj.deviantart.com/). Sophia Midnight is a character of hers in a variety of series, including a spin-off of this one. Go check her stuff out. She has fantastic character moments that make me go, “Wow! That is so them and I never would have thought of doing that.”


End file.
